Red Sox Pitcher Roenis Elias Improves In His Start With Paw Sox

Red Sox Pitcher Roenis Elias Improves In His Start With Paw Sox

Roenis Elias pitched well in his 4th start with the Pawtucket Red Sox Friday night. In 6 2/3 innings, he gave up 5 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts on 90 pitches (61 strikes). When you look at his last start on August 6th at Scranton, he went 5 1/3 innings, giving up 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 home runs, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts on 84 pitches (58 strikes). On the season with Pawtucket in 3 starts, he was 0-3, with a 10.54 ERA in 13 2/3.

Tonight Elias had better command and was able to keep the ball in the ball park. In his 3 other starts for AAA Pawtucket, he gave up a total of 7 home runs in 13 2/3 innings. However, he could have given up another home run to Richie Shaffer in the 1st inning. With 2 outs, Shaffer hit one to the warning track in left field in front of the Paw Sox bullpen. But Brian Bogusevic was able to bring the ball back into play.

What was even more impressive is that he was able to get strikeouts with his breaking balls. For a left handed pitcher that only throws around 94, That is very impressive.

Analyzing Elias Tonight

Roenis Elias pitched well tonight for the Paw Sox. He was able to get swings and misses on his breaking ball to strike batters out. In total, he was able to get 3 swing and misses for strikeouts on his breaking ball. For a pitcher like Elias, that is a huge boost for him.

Tonight his fastball was consistently sitting at 94 mph. He was able to get two strikeouts on his fastball. One swinging, and one looking. But he was throwing strikes on a consistent basis. That was the most important part. On the night, he was throwing 68% of his pitches for strikes.

He actually had a chance to give up only 3 hits on the night, but he gave up a shot to Matt Dominguez at 3rd base. That ate him up, which led to a hit. Then in the 5th inning, Yandy Diaz hit a ball to right field that went off of glove of Steve Selsky. That was ruled a double.

The most important part for Elias tonight was that he was able to be effective while throwing strikes. Like I said, 68% of his pitches were for strikes. If he is able to do that on a consistent basis, he might be a viable option for the Red Sox. Yes this only one start, but it is a start for Elias who has struggled during his rehab this season.

Elias is currently on the 60-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. If he is able to give the Red Sox something down the road this season, that is a huge plus. However, they still need to give him a place on the 40-man roster. The team would need to designate someone off of the 40-man roster for him to pitch in Boston. But to even think about having Elias pitch for the Red Sox, he needs to show more consistency like how he pitched tonight.

Red Sox Trade Bryce Brentz To The Pittsburgh Pirates

Red Sox Trade OF Bryce Brentz To The Pittsburgh Pirates

The Red Sox have announced that they have traded outfielder Bryce Brentz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. This creates a spot for newly signed JD Martinez on the 40 man roster, and ultimately the opening day 25 man roster.

Last season for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Bryce Brentz hit .271 with 31 home runs and 85 RBI’s. Those 31 home runs was the most out of any player in the Red Sox organization. However his fielding was okay at best.

This season, Bryce Brentz was on track to be the number 4 outfielder for the Boston Red Sox. But with the acquisition of JD Martinez, this would force Bryce Brentz off the opening day roster. Since Bryce Brentz no longer has anymore options, this trade makes sure that the Red Sox get something out of getting rid of him. Otherwise the Red Sox would have just designated him for assignment.

Bryce Brentz Highlights

Here are some of the highlights from last season for Bryce Brentz.

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Pawtucket Red Sox Close Out At Home And Thank Fans

Pawtucket Red Sox Close Out At Home And Thank Fans

The Pawtucket Red Sox closed out their home schedule at McCoy Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Paw Sox went on to win the game 3-0 over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The only runs scored on the afternoon came from a 3 run blast off the bat of Tzu-Wei Lin. Hector Velazquez also had a great game for the Paw Sox. In 7 innings, he only gave up 1 hit as he earned the win.

After the game, the Paw Sox had several promotions going on around the ballpark as they thanked their fans for a great season. The Paw Sox had pony rides on the football field next to the stadium. They let kids run the bases after game. They even had a helicopter drop tennis balls onto the field

The Paw Sox welcomed 409,960 fans into McCoy Stadium this season. That was up from the 2016 season. In the 2016 season, 407,097 fans went through the turnstiles at McCoy Stadium. There were also 11 sellouts at McCoy Stadium this season.

Helicopter Drop

During the helicopter drop, the Pawtucket Red Sox placed three hula hoops in center field. Each hula hoop represented a section of the ballpark. You can find the whole video on the Trifecta Face Book page or you can find a portion of it below.

The prize that the team gave out to fans was free frostys from Wendys. That was on top of the free frostys that they were giving out to all the fans from the “Pop Flys For Frostys” promotion that the team has during the game.

Day As A Whole

Pawtucket Red Sox players thanked their fans after the game by throwing soft toss balls into the crowd. After that, the team had the helicopter come in to drop the tennis balls on to the field.

Once the helicopter left McCoy Stadium, the Paw Sox let kids run the bases. Then in the football field next to the stadium, the Paw Sox had horses for children to ride.

The next Pawtucket Red Sox game to be played at McCoy Stadium is on Friday April 6th, 2018 against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

Red Sox Prospect Hector Velazquez Dazzles In Start With Paw Sox

Red Sox Prospect Hector Velazquez Dazzles In Start With Paw Sox

Hector Velazquez started on the mound today as the Pawtucket Red Sox closed out their home schedule at McCoy Stadium. He dazzled the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs through 7 innings while giving up only 1 hit. HE was credited with the win as the Paw Sox went on to beat the Iron Pigs 3-0 in front of 8,207 fans.

Before today, Velazquez looked like he was starting to get tired. Over a 3 start period, he gave up 10 runs (9 earned). For a guy who has had an ERA for a majority of the season around 1.50, that is very troubling.

But the last time he pitched before today was 9 days ago, and it looked like it benefited him greatly. Velazquez and Brian Johnson are two players that could give the Red Sox pitching staff a huge boost this September.

Velazquez Today

Velazquez was optioned to the Boston Red Sox on August 22nd before being re-optioned back to AAA Pawtucket on the 24th. This gave Velazquez an extra 4 days off. It looked like Velazquez benefited from extra time off.

Today Velazquez showed that he can pitch exactly like how he was earlier this season. A few weeks ago after his start against the Columbus Clippers, I said that it looked like Velazquez was tired and needed down time. Today he was able to have his start on extra rest, and pitched like he was refreshed.

Velazquez easily had his best start of the season for Paw Sox. In 7 innings, today, he gave up 1 hit, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts on 95 pitches (62 strikes). The one hit he gave up was a 2 out single to Cameron Perkins in the 1st inning. After that he retired 19 of the next 20 batters to close out his day.

Velazquez Going Forward

Hector Velazquez and Brian Johnson are two pitchers that are probably going to be called up to Boston this September. Both pitchers are capable of starting games for the Boston Red Sox too. They both could come up big for the Red Sox if they do need them while the Red Sox try to get some extra rest for their current starters.

Earlier this month, it looked like that Velazquez was starting to get tired. At one point over 3 starts, he gave up 9 earned runs over 14 innings. That was from a guy who had a 1.58 ERA at the beginning of that stretch.

This extra time off looked like it benefited Velazquez greatly. Going forward, I see that Velazquez could be a valuable member of the Red Sox pitching staff come this September.